Cabinet for panel-boards.



C. D. PLATT.

ANEL BOARDS.

1uLY25, 1913.

CABINET F0 APPLICATION Fl Patented Mar. 20, 1917.

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CABINET FOR PANEL BOARDS.

APPLICATION FILED JULY25. 1913.

1 ,21 9,864. Patented'Mar. 1917.

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ATTORNEY CLARENCE D. PLATT, OF BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT.

CABINET FOR PANEL-BOARDS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 20, 1917.

7 Application filed July 25, 1913. Serial No. 781,134.

To all whom it may concern:

'Be it known that I, CLARENCE D. PLATT, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Bridgeport, in the county of F airfield and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Cabinets for Panel-Boards, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description whereby any one skilled in the art may make and use the same,

The invention relates to cabinets and more particularly to cabinets for panel boards, that is, the electrical device consisting of a base of insulating material having fixed thereon main and branch conductors, controlling switches, fuse-plugs and similar electrical attachments which are arranged in various forms of assembly.

The invention herein defined relates more particularly to the type of cabinet for containing panel-boards which is formed of metaland has tight fitting joints with a movable door or panel to give access to the interior of the cabinet.

The object of the invention is to provide a cabinet With adoor which will have openings punched therefrom, said openings being filled with indicators applied thereto for designating and defining-the various circuits of the panel-board.

Further objects of the invention are hereinafter described in detail.

Referring to the drawings:

Figure 1 is an exterior view of the cabinet, looking at the front containing the 7 door.

Fig. 2=is a front View of the cabinet with the door removed.

Fig. 3 illustrates the door with openings punched therethrough.

Fig.4 is a cross-sectional view through -the door on very much enlarged scale.

Fig. 5 illustrates two forms of indicator slugs.

Fig. 6 illustrates the slugs partially inserted in the door perforations.

Fig. 7 indicates the slugs as finally seated with the edge of the perforation molded thereabout.

Panel-boards have long been in very common use and comprise usually a base of insulating material upon which are assembled main line conductors and branch conductors. The branch conductors are ordinarily provided with terminals to which line wires may-be attachedaml ach pa r of a c conductors is usually provided with fuse devices and switch devices for protecting and controlling the branch circuits.

All of the parts enumerated are ordinarily mounted upon a single base of insulating material and the base, with its apparatus, is inclosed in a casing or cabinet.

Cabinets of various forms are used which have heretofore been made from a variety of materials. l/Vhile wood cabinets have been in employ in common practice, they have in more modern structures been replaced by metal cabinets usually formed from sheet metal. These cabinets have ordinarily been provided with a tight door and to control the various circuits, access has been had to the interior of the cabinet, to the switch devices and fuse plugs, by means of opening said door. Thus, whenever a branchcircuit is to be opened or closed, the door must be opened andthe switch turned. This opening and closing of the door necessarily admits more or less dust and moisture and one must be familiar with the circuits in order to be able to control them through the switch devices, etc.

The invention herein defined relates to a new form of cabinet specifically described in a co-pending application filed by me on the 6th day of February, 1913, Serial No. 746,529, which application has matured into Patent Number 1,099,268, dated July 9,1914. This cabinet provides for the manipulation of the switch devices and the control of the circuits from the exterior of the cabinet with the door tightly closed and locked.

As set forth in the co-pending application referred to and as shown in the drawing herewith, switch devices are accessible through the door and may be controlled as to their on and oif position.

The invention herein described relates to a cabinet and door so arranged and constructed that the various circuits may be designated directly upon the door. The arrangement and construction is such that the cabinets may be struck up in a definite form in quantity and the indications or the nomenclature for the several circuits varied at will by inserting in suitable perforations slug-like members bearing the indicia to designate the circuits controlled by the respective switch devices.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral 1 denotes the casing having a door 2 suitably hinged as at 3, 4:. Within the casing is are ranged a panel-board 5 which has mounted thereon main line conductors 6, 7 and suitable branch conductors as at 8, 9. These branch conductors are controlled byswitches 10 and are insured by safety devices such as fuse plugs 11. The switches project toward the door and their operating handles are accessible through perforations 12. As illustrated, the switches are of the snap switch type and have indicators 18 to show whether the circuit is open or closed.

Appurtenant to the perforations 12 are indicator plates. These may be of any desired form such as the elliptical type designated at 14 or of circular form as indicated at 15 and they may bear any form of indicia re quired as numerals or the names of rooms or apartments, the electrical circuits of which are controlled from the panel-board through the switch devices appurtenant thereto- The door is ordinarily provided with per forations 16 and the indicator .slugs 14, 15 are struck up of a form to tightly fit said perforations. As illustrated in Figs. 6 and 7, these slugs 14-, 15, are slightly rounded at their outer face or edge 19 where they are punched out and when forced down into the perforations 16 of the door with their faces 20 brought into registering position with the face 21 thereof, the edges 22 of the perforation of the door are swaged down until they firmly fit about the periphery of the slugs. This insures a smooth tight joint at the face of the door. Obviously, the slugs may be driven out and be replaced by slugs bearing different, names or indicia in case the branch circuits are changed in their connections upon the board. It is apparent that there is a great advantage in providing indicating slugs of this character inasmuch as the doors may be stamped out in quantity and the indicator openings filled with slugs bearing the proper indicia when the lines are connected. Of course, blanks maybe used if desired, where some of the circuits are not employed and the slugs may be changed at will.

Ordinarily they would be of fixed form,

upon order, to the manufacturer, when the 7 door was pressed up, said order designating the exact indications required for a given number of outlets from the panel-board.

The invention is capable of modification to suit the exigencies of any particular case and resides in the main insthe punched out perforations appurtenant to the circuit controlling devices filled with slugs pressed into position and serving as indicators for the circuit controlling devices or switches.

If, desired, the edges of the perforations 16 upon the rear face of the door may also be swaged down, although this is hardly necessary 'as the slugs are of a form to fit tightly within the perforations and the swaging serves to prevent their being forced through the face of the door and gives a smooth neat finish about the periphery of the slugs.

The advantages of the device as herein defined are apparent. The cabinet provides for the manipulation of switch controlling devices for the circuits from the exterior of the boxes which may be locked, thus preventing tampering with the mechanism therein. The switch devices may have in dicators showing the on and off position of the switches and consequently the open and closed condition of the circuits controlled thereby. The indicator slugs show at a glance the circuits which are controlled by the switches so that no confusion can possibly arise in controlling distant circuits from the localized panel-board. The cabinets may be made in quantity from standardized dies, punches and tools. The slugs may be made in very large quantities and at a minimum cost, pressed up in any desired formto correspond to the apertures of the door and with any desired markings, thus providing a most economical basis of securing a cabinet with variable indications. Any desired combinations of indicator slugs may be filled into the casing upon order. The indications may be changed at will, covering as many combinations of circuits as are controlled from the panel-board. The device is of substantial form, strong as to its construction and simple of manipulation and presents, when completed, a very neat and finished product which has all the appearances of a specially constructed cabinet in any instances of use.

Obviously, the exact form of slugs and arrangement thereof on the door may be modified. The perforations may be located in any desired position upon the door relatively to the position of the switch controlling perforations and the design in finish of door and slugs may be varied to suit any demand. It is, of course, preferred to use slugs of a material and character differing somewhat from the material of the body of the door.

This throws the parts into contrast and where metals of different characters are used, close fitting and swaging are readily attainable.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A cabinet for panel boards having a door in which are formed a series of regularly disposed perforations permitting access to the operative parts of the panel board, and interchangeable indicator slugs set into the substance of the door adjacent to the said perforations, there being an indicator slug for each perforation of the series.

2. A cabinet for panel boards comprising a box-like structure having a door provided with a series of perforations through which devices Within the box-like structure may be controlled, and with perforations extending through said door and arranged one adjacent to each of the first named perforations, and removable interchangeable indicator slugs fitting each of the last said perforations.

3. A cabinet for panel boards having a door provided with a series of perforations through which devices within the cabinet are accessible and operable, indicator perforations through the door, one for each of the said perforations of the series arranged adjacent thereto and interchangeable indicator slugs fitting each of said indicator perforations.

at. A cabinet for panel boards comprising a door having perforations through which devices within the cabinet are controlled, perforations in the door adjacent to said switch perforations, indicator slugs having a slightly rounded peripheral edge adapted to be forced into said perforations from the rear side of the door, with their faces registering with the face of the door and with the edges of the perforation adjacent to the curved peripheral edges of the slugs swaged into close fitting contact with the slug.

5. As an article of manufacture, a door for the cabinets of panel boards having a series of perforations through which devices contained in the cabinet are accessible and a series of indicator perforations, there being an indicator perforation for each of the first named perforations, said indicator perforations having forced thereinto interchangeable indicator slugs closing the perforations and each of them denoting the character of the devices to be actuated.

6. As an article of manufacture, a door for the cabinets of panel boards having switch perforations through which the controlling devices of the panel boards are accessible, indicator perforations, said latter perforations arranged one for each switch perforation and having forced thereinto removable 1 and interchangeable indicator slugs closing all the indicator perforations and denoting the particular use of the devices controllable through the adjacent perforations.

CLARENCE D. PLATT.

\Vitnesses MAUDE F. SCRIPTURE, GEORGE N. SEARS.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of I'atents. Washington, I). G. 

